February, 2012
This is a compilation of articles published from a variety of international media sources. It includes a collection of voices within the debate expressing opinions on the decision of the Venezuelan government to denounce the ICSID Convention within the context of a multibillion-dollar lawsuit filed by the oil company Exxon Mobil Corp. against the country.
On January 25th, the Venezuelan government formally denounced the Convention establishing the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) through a public communiqué asserting that the center favors transnational corporations and leaving ICSID will help protect national sovereignty.
Venezuela formally requests exit from arbitration court (January 25, 2012)
Venezuela Announces “Irrevocable” Withdrawal from World Bank’s Arbitration Body (January 26, 2012)
The decision was previously announced by the Venezuelan government in the context of the international lawsuit filed by Exxon Mobil Corp. against the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA for the nationalization of its assets in 2007.
According to publications, the arbitration court of the International Chamber of Congress (ICC) issued a binding decision for the case. The verdict amount was 702 million Euros (approximately $907.6 million US Dollars).
Venezuela deberá pagar a las petrolera Exxon 702 millones de Euros por activos incautados (January 2, 2012)
As this ruling did not meet Exxon’s expectations (the company initially sued for ten times the amount that was awarded), it subsequently announced that it would pursue another arbitration case against the Venezuelan government in ICSID. The government has responded indicating that it does not anticipate making any further payments to Exxon with Oil Minister Rafael Ramírez noting, “there’s nothing left to decide.”
Panel deals a setback to Exxon in Venezuela (January 3, 2012)
Ick-SID (January 19, 2012)
Nevertheless, there are several commentators who maintain that the path taken by the Venezuelan government does not exempt it from the process initiated by Exxon, nor from the approximately twenty cases that a variety of companies have previously filed. It is worth pointing out however, that once the denunciation of the Convention of ICSID is filed, companies still have a 6-month window in which to present lawsuits against Venezuela in the Centre.
Experts: More lawsuits to be filed against Venezuela in ICSID (January 26, 2012)
Venezuela’s ICSID test (February 6, 2012)
Save the prosperity infrastructure (February 7, 2012)
On a local level, this decision has carried with it repercussions as well. A dissident voice coming from the president of the largest business organization in Venezuela, Fedecámeras, told the media that this decision would scare off international investment.
Fedecámaras: salida del CIADI aleja inversiones internacionales (January 16, 2012)
Pedro Palma: Salida de Venezuela del CIADI aleja las inversiones (January 26, 2012)
However, one Venezuelan deputy stated that he doesn’t see it that way, stating that “Venezuela’s departure from the ICSID is not going to affect oil investments in Venezuela and it will continue being a very attractive destination for large transnationals due to the fact that it possesses the largest proved reserves on the planet.”
Salida de Venezuela del Ciadi no afectará inversiones petroleras (26 Enero, 2012)
For now, these are the parameters of the debate developing on the Venezuelan government’s decision to withdraw from the ICSID Convention. In the coming months there will certainly be increased interest on the positions taken by involved actors regarding the pending lawsuits that Venezuela will be engaged in, one of those will certainly be against Exxon Mobil Corp.
